


First Born

by twtd



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017), The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 10:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17465516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twtd/pseuds/twtd
Summary: Never thinking that she would have a child, Julie offers Hecate her firstborn in exchange for a new job. Hecate never intended to collect. Now she's stuck with a precocious daughter and a co-parent she can't stand.Despite the clear summer sky, as soon as she set foot on the dirt road, everything turned dark. The woods didn't look that thick, but the path was cloaked in the gloom. Still, Julie had no choice. She would speak to the woman, to the witch, or she didn't know what she would do, but it would be drastic. She put one foot in front of the other going down each of the twists and turns as the ground rose beneath her feet. Despite her good general health, she was breathing heavily by the time she turned off of the wider road onto the actual path to the cottage. At least, she thought it was the path.Somehow, it got even darker and the path got even steeper. Who would want to live back here, though the brambles and bushes? With each step, Julie became more and more convinced the woman had to be a witch.Finally, after what seemed like a very long time for the amount of space she covered, Julie found the low gate that demarcated the edge of the witch's property.





	First Born

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said I wasn't going to write this, but oops? Not entirely sure where this is going, but it's going somewhere!

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, twelve years, to be exact, Julie Hubble was desperate. She had just lost her third job in the last year due to downsizing and she didn't know what to do. She had tried everything: online job boards, employment agencies, even sending out her CV blind to companies she thought might be hiring. Nothing had worked. She had a rent payment coming due and she was distraught. She really didn't want to have to move back home and live with her mother. She loved her mother dearly but they would kill each other within a week. 

That was what brought her to the cottage in the woods that summer. It was rumored that the woman who lived there in the summer was a witch and Julie was just despairing enough to try her luck. After all, the worst thing that could happen would be for her to offend the woman living there. She didn't have a car but the bus had a stop only a bit away from the turnoff to the cottage. That's where Julie now stood, staring into the woods at the base of the mountain the town ringed. 

Despite the clear summer sky, as soon as she set foot on the dirt road, everything turned dark. The woods didn't look that thick, but the path was cloaked in the gloom. Still, Julie had no choice. She would speak to the woman, to the witch, or she didn't know what she would do, but it would be drastic. She put one foot in front of the other going down each of the twists and turns as the ground rose beneath her feet. Despite her good general health, she was breathing heavily by the time she turned off of the wider road onto the actual path to the cottage. At least, she thought it was the path. 

Somehow, it got even darker and the path got even steeper. Who would want to live back here, though the brambles and bushes? With each step, Julie became more and more convinced the woman had to be a witch. 

Finally, after what seemed like a very long time for the amount of space she covered, Julie found the low gate that demarcated the edge of the witch's property.

"Hello," she called out. She received no response. "Hello?" she tried again. Her hand found the latch and opened it almost without conscious thought on Julie's part. As she stepped into the yard, she swallowed nervously and her ears popped. The cottage didn't particularly seem lived in. The shutters looked as though they were about to fall off and weeds grew between the stones that made up the walkway. 

There was an overgrown garden off to one side but Julie couldn't identify anything growing in it. All of the plants looked foreign. She thought about going that way to look for the woman, but a very strong instinct told her leaving the walkway would be a very bad idea. She listened to that instinct. 

She followed the walkway up to the door, raised her hand, and knocked. The sound seemed to die as soon as it was produced. She knocked again. Just as Julie was about to turn away, convinced that the rumors were just that, rumors, there was a light scuff on the other side of the door. Fear suddenly gripped Julie's stomach. 

"Ada, I don't know why you insist–" the woman stopped talking as soon as she saw Julie. "You aren't Ada," she bit out. 

"No, nope." Julie stuck her hand out. "Julie actually. Julie Hubble. And you are?" 

The woman looked at her disdainfully. "Not interested." She stepped back and moved to close the door. Julie held out a hand to stop her. 

"Is it true you're a witch?" Julie blurted out. The woman was tall and thin, her black hair pulled back into some sort of elaborate bun. A watch hung around her neck. Julie could easily picture her wearing a pointed hat. 

The woman's eyes narrowed. "What makes you say that?" 

"Oh, just a rumor. Down in the town. That a witch lives up here." Julie swallowed hard. Her spidey senses were tingling, telling her to run. Maybe the woman wasn't a witch. Maybe she was a serial killer and Julie had just offered herself as a victim. Female serial killers were incredibly rare, weren't they? 

"And if I _was_ a witch?" The woman drew out her words and Julie wasn't sure she wanted to answer. 

Julie licked her lips then swallowed again. "I was wondering if you could do some sort of spell to get me a job. A real job that lasts more than a few months." 

The woman sniffed. "I am not an employment agency, and as I have no work for you, I don't see how I can help."

"So you're not a witch then?" Julie's face fell. She hadn't realized until that moment how much hope she had put into her harebrained plan. 

"Even if I was, what makes you think I would help you? Some random woman who had stumbled up to my door." The woman crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at Julie. 

"Don't witches have to grant wishes?" Julie knew that was a stretch, but she was grasping at straws. 

"You're confusing me with a genie," the woman sneered. 

"So you _are_ a witch." Julie's eyes lit up with the possibility. "And witches make deals, something precious for my heart's desire." 

"Now you're confusing me with Rumplestiltskin." The woman huffed. "Besides, is employment really your heart's desire?"

"Right now it is," Julie said firmly. She really, really needed a job. She needed a career. "You can have anything." 

"What makes you think you have anything I might want?"

"You can have my first born. That's what you lot use for currency, isn't it?" And she wasn't planning on having any children anyway. At least no time soon, and maybe the witch would have forgotten about the deal before she did.

"That's barbaric." Still, the woman looked like she was considering it.

"Please," Julie whispered. "Please."

"Fine." The woman sneered. "If it will get you to go away." She stepped out of the cottage forcing Julie backward. Julie stumbled but stayed on her feet. 

The woman said a quick spell and flicked her wrist. 

"That's it?" Julie asked. 

"Would you prefer I made you drink something vile, Miss Hubble?" The woman said contemptuously. "Now, I would kindly thank you to get off of my property and forget how you got here." She flicked her wrist again and Julie found herself at the bottom of the mountain. She looked behind herself and the road was gone. 

She shook her head. Perhaps that was simply what dealing with witches was like. It wasn't as if she had any experiences to compare it with. She walked to the bus stop completely unaware that she was already pregnant with the child she had just given away.

* * *

And thus a child was born to Julie Hubble, one she hadn't asked for but one she loved with all of her heart nonetheless. As she laid in her hospital bed she spent ever minute fearing the witch would appear to take away her newborn, but she never showed up.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are the best and they'll 100% inspire me to keep working on this. 
> 
> I'm on tumblr @twtd11


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